Lyonel Crakehall
Lyonel Crakehall '''is the Head of House Crakehall and the current Master of War on the Small Council of Daemon III Blackfyre. He succeeded his father as Lord of Crakehall in 265 AC, and was named to the King's council following the Duel of the Dragons in 276 AC. Appearance Neither notably towering or bulky, Lyonel still carries himself with an air of bravado that few can match. His dark brown hair is kept relatively short but untamed, and dulled blue eyes sit heavy in their sockets. His beard is kept short, but he is rarely clean shaven, and a thick moustache sits upon his upper lip. History Born to Gerion Lannister and his wife in 233 AC, Lyonel Crakehall was the youngest of his father's four children. Two years later, his oldest brother Raymar committed suicide whilst squiring at Faircastle. This created a wedge between his other brother Raymond - Raymar's younger twin - and the rest of the Crakehalls, ultimately leading to Raymond finding the faith and the joining the Queensguard of Daena Blackfyre in 240 AC. In under a decade, Lyonel had gone from a neglected third son to the apple of his father's eye and the future of his house. Unlike his brothers, whom were viewed as failures by Gerion, Lyonel was raised at Crakehall. He took to his studies with a dutiful desire to avoid dishonouring his family any further, though it was on the training yards that he truly shined. A natural talent for swordplay and a seemingly bottomless drive soon saw him besting boys many years older than he, and he became squire to his Lord father shortly after his twelfth nameday. Shortly thereafter Lyonel and his father travelled to King's Landing so that they could reunite with Raymond and make peace. Whilst Lyonel spent time getting acquainted with the pleasures of the capital, Gerion and Raymond buried the knife and they were ready to part as friends. Then news started flooding into the capital that the Bloodraven had seized control of Tyrosh and was looking to take Myr and Lys. For the first time in his life, Lyonel went to war under the banner of House Blackfyre. At one point, during the War of the Widows, Lyonel fought at Queen Daena's side amongst the ranks of her Queensguard. When a Tyroshi sellsword snuck past Ser Jory Norcross and made to attack the Queen from behind Lyonel leapt into the fray and brought the Essosi down with a deft thrust. Later in the conflict, he then witnessed Daena's death in the Warrior Queen's Ploy. He returned home defeated and dejected, but with more combat experience under his belt than any squire of age four-and-ten had likely had before. Whilst his father returned to Crakehall to resume rulership after the unexpected death of his designated regent, Denys Crakehall, in a hunting accident. Lyonel remained in King's Landing and began squiring for Raymond. This continued until the pair were ambushed in the Kingswood by a band of brigands. Raymond succumbed to his wounds shortly after the surviving brigands had fled, but an injured Lyonel was able to make it safely to a nearby village. Once rested, he returned to the capital with Raymond's corpse and passed the White Cloak back to his sworn brothers. In a possibly remorseful display, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard knighted Lyonel in the throne room - at the base of the Iron Throne itself. Now an anointed knight, Lyonel's first course of action was vengeance. With a gang of retainers at his side, he tracked down the brigands that had survived ambushing him and one-by-one he returned them all to King's Landing to face the hangman's noose. With justice delivered as best he could, the Crakehall finally took his leave of the capital to return home. The next ten years were comparatively peaceful. Lyonel married Alys Lannister, from a branch of the Lannisport Lannisters, and together they had four children of their own - Stefan, Roger, Serra, and Tybolt. All the while, Gerion began to struggle with illness and age. Old wounds began to flare up after long periods of inactivity and, by the birth of Tybolt, the old Boar had become almost bedridden. It was little over a year after that when the elderly lord was discovered to have died peacefully in the night. Remembered as a veteran warrior and loyal vassal, he was buried in a lavish ceremony and his Lordship formally passed on to Lyonel. When Durran's Defiance began, Lyonel was quick to call his own banners. He built up defences at Crakehall and along the Ocean Road and, when the news arrived that the Reach marched for Maelys, his forces were already at the border waiting. Eventually, the West declared against Maelys and Martyn Lannister began leading the forces south - into the Northmarch. Numerous times, over the course of the rebellion, did the new Lord prove his mettle. At the siege of Old Oak it was Lyonel himself who led the charge that took the castle - being one of the first men to set foot inside the keep, and at Red Lake Lyonel cut down two Crane's with his Valyrian Steel blade before his vanguard could secure the castle walls. Eventually the Lions relented and, after bleeding much of the Reach of its gold, the Westerlanders withdrew to Crakehall - where the defences Lyonel had arranged would give them considerable advantage should Lord Tyrell seek revenge. Shortly after, word arrived at Crakehall of Tarbeck's treachery and the kidnapping of Lord Tytos Lannister. Incensed, Lyonel elected to accompany Perceon Lannister to see the traitor dragged from his keep. Instead he was given a front row seat to the destruction of House Tarbeck, watching with his own eye as the once formidable castle was turned into a ruin and the great house became no more than a feast for the crows. Peace followed shortly after that, the death of Maelys Blackfyre signalling a victory for the rebels. At the outbreak of the Duel of Dragons, Lyonel and his two eldest sons - both of which were coming towards the end of their squiring years under his watchful gaze - joined Perceon Lannister's Battalion for the war in the Stepstones. During the skirmish at Redwater, Stefan Crakehall took an arrow through his neck and bled out on the field of battle. Undeterred, Lyonel and Roger continued to serve with the Battalion through many more skirmishes and the Slaughter at Scarwood. By the end of the Slaughter it was said that the Boars of Crakehall were both covered head-to-toe in gore, and Lyonel knighted his son shortly afterward. Like many others, he volunteered for one of the King's champions in the Trial by Seven but was declined. He watched the trial from close to the Royal dais, and after the assassination attempt he helped Ser Domeric shield the King and escort him to safety. Landing back in King's Landing, Lyonel assumed he would be returning to Crakehall but was surprised to receive a royal summons. With the Targaryen threat still as real as it was near a century ago, the King and his advisers had elected to create the office of Master of War to serve on the Small Council. When it came to fighting Targaryens few had more experience than the Lord of Crakehall, and his natural gift for strategy and warfare made him a great fit for the position. Lyonel has sat on Daemon III's council ever since, serving as a neutral party in the power struggle between Prince Aemond and Lord Royland. At Daemon's coronation and wedding, the Master of War presented a few gifts for the King along with his renewed oath of fealty. Amongst these were: an ornate drinking horn, hand carved by Lyonel from a hollowed out boar's tusk; a rather large hunting knife, best suited to skinning or scalping the beasts of the wilds; and the obligatory ship for the Royal Fleet, a lumbering flagship named Ingloria. Family Tree See link. Household '''Roger Crakehall - Gift: Strong - Lyonel's second son and heir to Crakehall, acting as Regent in his father's absence. Tybolt Crakehall - Gift: Vitality - Lyonel's youngest son, an ambitious knight that currently still accompanies his father in King's Landing. Gyles Hawthorne - Gift: Bureaucrat - The castellan of Crakehall, does much of the actual running of day-to-day affairs whilst Roger goes on hunts and travels. Victor Parren - Gift: Ambidextrous - Former Captain of the Crakehall Guard, now leads Lyonel's personal guard in King's Landing. Category:House Crakehall Category:Westerlander Category:The Small Council